Hi, I think I just caught one of these queens. I also caught some black carpenter ants, Camponotus pennsylvanicus, I think. I will be gone for 4 weeks starting Sunday so I won't be tempted to bother them.
I'm pretty sure that camponotus don't have a super major caste. As far as my knowledge goes only a select few ant species have super majors like pheidole Rhea, obtusospinosa, hirtula and polymorpha Very good video and I love the nest
Thanks! I am glad you enjoyed the video. Camponotus do have a super major caste. It isn’t present in all species however. They will have the characteristics of the majors but will be of the largest size and with the highest expression of the morphological features.
@@TheAnttarium I'm fairly sure that you're at least somewhat incorrect here. As far as I am aware, Camponotus are typically polymorphic, but without specifically defined castes. Typically the species have a largest possible worker size, smallest possible worker size, and every other size inbetween present in a colony. This does not mean that the largest workers are supermajors, but just rather the largest workers in a polymorphic species. These are typically referred to as just majors, with the smallest workers being minors, and everything inbetween being media, or medians. With other highly polymorphic species such as Atta, certain sizes or loosely defined castes may get special names, such as the largest workers being called soldiers, and the smallest being called minims. There are definitely some Camponotus that are not loosely polymorphic, such as C. ulcerosus (or possibly the entire Myrmaphaenus subfamily? I am unsure about other species) that are just bimorphic, with a defined major and minor caste and no inbetween, or such as the subgenus Dendromyrmex, which are monomorphic. Whether or not there are any truly trimorphic Camponotus is still up in the air as far as I can tell, as typically species that produce more than one or two strict worker sizes will just be fluidly polymorphic as I described before. Even if there are a few trimorphic Camponotus, it is certainly not the norm. In order for the largest worker caste to be considered true supermajors, they would need to be developmentally, morphologically, and behaviorally distinct from other workers in the colony, which as far as I have been able to tell is not the case with any of the strongly polymorphic North American Camponotus, or any of the other Camponotus I am familiar with in other parts of the world. Edit: I was actually watching the video through while making this, and I stumbled across where you explain castes in the video, and there's definitely some discrepancies. First of all, the term "nanitic" simply refers to the first generation workers produced by a queen. It has nothing to do with size, and subsequent generations of workers in a colony are no longer nanitics, regardless of how small they may be. In some rare cases, especially seen in Pheidole species like P. tepicana, queens can even make majors in their first generation, meaning that those majors are nanitics too! Other than that, as I said before, your smallest workers are typically minors or minims, your largest are majors or soldiers, and your median sized workers are medians or media, at least when dealing with a species such as these Camponotus.
I honestly don’t know the age. I collected them from a small log. There were at least 100 workers in the colony at that time. I have had them less than a year. If they keep going at the rate they are going they may hit that 1000 mark
@@TheAnttarium Less than a year! Wow, that's some impressive growth, too bad decipiens doesn't get too far past 1,000 workers. 😔Still pretty impressive size though!
These are custom made nests. There is no online store or stock as far as I know. You would have to ask TexAnts about prices. Try contacting him on his FB page.
Thats a nice wood nest. I have a camponotus quercicola colony that is very slow growing, the queen is huge. Eventually I'd like a wood nest like that. Theyre in a mini hearth now
Not going to lie, I'm a little disappointed that you let that colony get THAT full before deciding to move them. Carpenter ants are on the slower growing side too, their size filled that up fast. It looked like you should've moved them when they were 2/3rds the amount of workers. Anyhow, nice video though, informative.
a pleasure to make this nest for your beautiful ants
You make truly beautiful nests!
Hi, I think I just caught one of these queens. I also caught some black carpenter ants, Camponotus pennsylvanicus, I think. I will be gone for 4 weeks starting Sunday so I won't be tempted to bother them.
They will be super abundant in Texas as we get our spring rains. Be ready for what nature offers!
great video! good to know I can use a water tower in a wooden nest.
Thanks! It works just fine so long as you don’t over do it I suppose. Expansion or shrinking of wood is something to keep in mind.
Wow! Great video. I just can't stop watching it! Thank you for sharing with me, Andrew.
Glad you liked it. You are most welcome!
That's a beautiful colony
What a beautifully made nest! Looks fantastic!
TexAnts makes some really cool stuff!
Wow that’s a nice nest, and a great video.
Thanks!
What a beautiful species, and such a finest work Alejandro's wooden nest.. Gorgeous footage!
I hope to make really good use of macro lens from now on!
I'm pretty sure that camponotus don't have a super major caste. As far as my knowledge goes only a select few ant species have super majors like pheidole Rhea, obtusospinosa, hirtula and polymorpha
Very good video and I love the nest
Thanks! I am glad you enjoyed the video. Camponotus do have a super major caste. It isn’t present in all species however. They will have the characteristics of the majors but will be of the largest size and with the highest expression of the morphological features.
@@TheAnttarium I'm fairly sure that you're at least somewhat incorrect here.
As far as I am aware, Camponotus are typically polymorphic, but without specifically defined castes. Typically the species have a largest possible worker size, smallest possible worker size, and every other size inbetween present in a colony. This does not mean that the largest workers are supermajors, but just rather the largest workers in a polymorphic species. These are typically referred to as just majors, with the smallest workers being minors, and everything inbetween being media, or medians. With other highly polymorphic species such as Atta, certain sizes or loosely defined castes may get special names, such as the largest workers being called soldiers, and the smallest being called minims.
There are definitely some Camponotus that are not loosely polymorphic, such as C. ulcerosus (or possibly the entire Myrmaphaenus subfamily? I am unsure about other species) that are just bimorphic, with a defined major and minor caste and no inbetween, or such as the subgenus Dendromyrmex, which are monomorphic. Whether or not there are any truly trimorphic Camponotus is still up in the air as far as I can tell, as typically species that produce more than one or two strict worker sizes will just be fluidly polymorphic as I described before. Even if there are a few trimorphic Camponotus, it is certainly not the norm. In order for the largest worker caste to be considered true supermajors, they would need to be developmentally, morphologically, and behaviorally distinct from other workers in the colony, which as far as I have been able to tell is not the case with any of the strongly polymorphic North American Camponotus, or any of the other Camponotus I am familiar with in other parts of the world.
Edit: I was actually watching the video through while making this, and I stumbled across where you explain castes in the video, and there's definitely some discrepancies. First of all, the term "nanitic" simply refers to the first generation workers produced by a queen. It has nothing to do with size, and subsequent generations of workers in a colony are no longer nanitics, regardless of how small they may be. In some rare cases, especially seen in Pheidole species like P. tepicana, queens can even make majors in their first generation, meaning that those majors are nanitics too! Other than that, as I said before, your smallest workers are typically minors or minims, your largest are majors or soldiers, and your median sized workers are medians or media, at least when dealing with a species such as these Camponotus.
Wow! how old would you say this colony is? I have a very young colony of this species, cant wait for them to get to their thousand worker mark!
I honestly don’t know the age. I collected them from a small log. There were at least 100 workers in the colony at that time. I have had them less than a year. If they keep going at the rate they are going they may hit that 1000 mark
@@TheAnttarium Less than a year! Wow, that's some impressive growth, too bad decipiens doesn't get too far past 1,000 workers. 😔Still pretty impressive size though!
Beautiful nest! how much was it? Where would I go to buy it?
Beautiful colony too!
These are custom made nests. There is no online store or stock as far as I know. You would have to ask TexAnts about prices. Try contacting him on his FB page.
I see you kept neoponera villosa before and I’m wondering if you’ve ever seen normal worker ants laying eggs?
The workers can do that and it tends to happen in the absence of a queen. Those eggs will either be males or used as food.
Thats a nice wood nest. I have a camponotus quercicola colony that is very slow growing, the queen is huge. Eventually I'd like a wood nest like that. Theyre in a mini hearth now
I think at least for carpenter ants, wooden nests really end up being better in the long run
The queen likes a heating cable on the top and or bottom of the ant nest. Do u use a heating cable or heating mat? 🤔
u didnt watch the video did you?
6:50
Not going to lie, I'm a little disappointed that you let that colony get THAT full before deciding to move them. Carpenter ants are on the slower growing side too, their size filled that up fast. It looked like you should've moved them when they were 2/3rds the amount of workers. Anyhow, nice video though, informative.
11:21 , camponotus are dimorphic. They only have 2 distinct worker castes, minor and a major. They do not have super majors.
those are not camponotus they are trichomyrmex destructor